Help John Paul fulfil his goal to walk

$655
of $70,000 goal

A short video of an episode from the show Dragons Den will help explain what I am trying to raise funding for. Mitchell Brogan and his team show off the new life changing technology to the dragons in 2016 ------>( http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2678036853/ ).

At the moment, Amanda Boxtel has been nominated for CNN’s 2018 hero of the year award (see here --- > https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/01/world/cnnheroes-top-ten-2018/index.html ) . She joins nine other individuals with new technologies that help empower the world we live in. Amanda was nominated for her companies groundbreaking technology in bionic equipment that allows people with mobility issues regain the independence they need to walk again with the assistance of a bionic suit. More information about her program is listed here -----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpL2S2ZjrDg

My Story

Greetings,

My name is JP Gamache; I am writing you today because I am hoping to reach out to the creators of Able Bionics, and other companies that develop technology that can help me achieve a lifelong dream, to walk. I have been wheelchair bound my entire life. I am 29 years old with cerebral palsy, and all I want to do is have the ability to try out some bionic equipment that can help me walk and rehabilitate my lower extremities. I sit on the accessibility advisory board for the city of Thunder Bay and have been volunteering my time on other committees such as the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIBC) as well as a program that is run by our local hospital called the “5 partner boards” which I have been asked to comment about the efficacy of the new technology and programs currently being used by individuals with a physiological handicap like myself.

I currently live my life every day in hopes of one day being able to walk using the technology of companies like Able Bionics. I have been researching companies that build bionic limbs to help people like me fulfil a lifelong dream, a dream that many take for granted. Unfortunately, I do not have the required amount of money to buy this life-changing technology outright, but I do have the passion and drive not to let this get in my way. The suit itself will cost a minimum of 40 thousand dollars; it will also require me to travel to southern Ontario. The money raised from this page will help me cover the costs of the bionic suit, lodgings and personal care services that I require daily. I want to help the researchers develop technologies that will help individuals like myself to walk. I am looking for a way to get my story out there to the companies who are in the process of researching and developing this new technology for individuals with disabilities like myself. I have a dream, and that dream is so close to coming true as there are already human trials currently running that I would be interested in becoming a part of. I'm asking you to be a part of my journey; if there is any way you can help me get in a position where I can achieve my dreams of walking, I thank you greatly. My goal is to ultimately become an advocate and spokesperson for other disabled individuals who go through the daily struggle of living in a wheelchair. I want to be able to show others that it is possible to achieve your dreams. I am looking for donations to help me get into a position where I would be able to work with researchers and my community to build a gateway to accessing these technologies as there is a current lack of funding to make bionic exoskeletons a “mainstream” medical revolution. Today I want to begin a revolution. I hope you can help me get closer to making my dream a reality, a reality where I can utilise the life-changing technology currently being developed. As I have previously mentioned, I cannot afford the technology on my own. I hope that this message will reach individuals who can relate and help me get closer to achieving my dreams. If you can help me in any way, it would be much appreciated and together we can begin something that will help change the world for individuals with disabilities. Together we can help others who may have been told that walking is not possible; to walk again.

I write this message with the sincerest regards and hope someone out there can feel the motivation I have to be able to walk. The prosody of my speech cannot accurately display the emotional toll that not being able to walk has burdened me. I hope that I can eventually use the new bionic technology to help me help others.

The reason I have created this page is that I believe it is my best chance to raise money to afford the equipment. Also, Mitch Brogan has asked me to help him bring this technology to people in wheelchairs and eventually start a rehab facility after I purchase the exoskeleton to help other people in wheelchairs with dreams with hopes of walking one day.